Managing troubled and troubling students using child guidance principles and techniques

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Friday, December 11, 2015

Make Your Words Count: Encouraging Statements to Focus Children on Effort

Encouraging words
are words that aim at building children’s self-confidence
or trust in their own abilities to master a skill and to solve their own problems.
Children need to understand that it is okay to make mistakes; trial and error are part of the learning
process, and this is how we master new and challenging skills. Parents and
teachers can encourage children to remain optimistic and positive in their
ability to learn new skills or to improve current skills. When the child makes
a mistake, simply shifting his/her focus from failure (problem-oriented) to hopefulness (solution-oriented) can do wonders in improving the child’s
attitude and self-confidence. We can help children see personal or academic
errors and mistakes as both external
(not as a personality trait or defining who they are) and controllable; that is, something that it can be improved through
effort and using specific learning
strategies. We help children focus on effort by consistently noticing and
appreciating the things they do to better themselves.

Parents and
teachers also encourage children by helping them shift the focus away from causes (why the problem is happening)
and toward goals, or where they are headed;
that is, focusing children on what they want and what they need to do (steps)
to get what they want. Our encouraging role resembles the role of a sports
coach, with as little criticism as possible but with adequate supervision, detailed directions (the how to or procedure),
and plenty of support. Like a sports
coach, we identify and build on the child’s strengths (e.g. the child has a good
sense of humor, he is good with numbers, is organized, and has a good memory),
helping the child identify how that unique
set of strengths can help in acquiring a specific skill or in reaching a
particular goal. Examples of encouraging
statements that focus children on effort are:

That’s a great
effort. Don’t worry about the small mistake.

Keep trying. I
know you can work this frustrating problem out.

I know you will
figure out a good way to do this next time.

Keep at it; I know
you will figure this out. Do you want my help?

It is okay to make
mistakes, we all do. What do you think you learned from it?

A Call to All Teachers:

Proudly announcing our new
group for educators worldwide, “We Teach the World.” Our aim is to connect
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much-needed ideas, strategies, and lesson plans as well as all kinds of
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information. If you administer a teaching blog or have created educational
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they contribute to education, we want to know of your business. Teachers with
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Because isolated, we teachers are imaginative, resourceful and resilient, but connected,
connected we are imaginative, resourceful, resilient AND powerful. To join us,
click on, “We Teach the World.”

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Introducing "The Psycho-Educational Teacher"

Psycho-education is an enhanced behavior management approach based on the principle that, no matter how severe a behavior problem is, all children can grow socio-emotionally and can learn how to self-control behavior. Psycho-educational teachers believe that socio-emotional growth takes place when children understand the role that emotions play in their school difficulties. This therapeutic approach aims at helping children understand how their troubling feelings and emotions influence their behavior. A teacher trained in psycho-education applies skilled child guidance techniques to help children develop effective coping strategies, self-control of behavior, and social problem-solving skills. Psycho-educational principles and techniques include cognitive (thinking), affective (feelings), and behavioral aspects. This innovative blog is a must read for teachers, counselors, administrators, and parents with an interest in psycho-educational theory and methods to help children with recurrent behavior problems.